Marking machine



March 5,1935.

' G. STlEGLER MARKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 17, 1932 1 d I .16 x I] 0 2 12 4 -.u II

1N VB OR.

ATTORNEYS,

'Patented Mar. 5, 1935 I I UNITED STATES PAT ENT OFFICE.

1,993,461 MARKING MACHINE "George 'Stieg'ler, Cincinnati, Ohio Application December i7, 1932, Serial No. 647,733

I V 7 7 g 14 Claims. (01. 101-101) My invention'relates to machines designed dial-carrying frame 8 with its top fixed on the, particularly ior'marking articles in laundries or lower end of rod 5.v The plate 9 carrying the marking goods withstyle and lot numbers, and inking mechanism is pivoted by screws 10 on many other useswhich will be apparent. "It is the rear upper parts of the sides of the dialan improvement on my marking machine discarrying frame 8, to swing outwardly and then a closed and claimed in my prior Patent No. 1,891,-, inwardly, being yicldingly .held in by the leaf 55, December 20, 1-932, and, in common spring 11. This inking mechanism is fully'diswith that invention, has for its objects the proclosed and claimed'in the above-mentioned prior vision of a relatively small compact machine, inpatent, and it is suificientto state that the pad stead of the usual large cumbersome marking carrier 12 is pivoted on the lower end part of lo apparatus used in laundries and the like, the this plate to 'swing the inking pad 13 under provision of automatic inking means for the action of a'rack 14 meshed with segment 15 on marking device, and the easy setting of various the pad carrier and sliding up and downo-n plate characters to marking position on the 9, by a suitable engagement of the dial carrier 15 marking means. 8, so that the pad swings upwardand inward l.

Objects peculiar to my present improvement as the carrier 8 descends, then is released by are more particularly related to the marking de- 1 the carrier 8 and is swung downwardly and out vice, and to the means whereby the marking 'dewardly by action of tension spring 15' on rack 14. vice swings the inking deviceaside. Theinking In said prior patent, a finger on plate" 9 is device is substantially the same as the one fully engaged by 5116 dial Carri-81 swing the inking 20 disclosed and claimed in theabove mentioned device outward. In my present improvement patent. 7 rollers 16 are journalled on studs on lthe inner One or" these objects isto provide, by a simple sides of ears on the lower corners of the plate 9, construction, a: readily operated mounting for and curved edge portions 17 of the dial carrier the marking dial or dials, both as regards setting engage these rollers for the same purpose; the 25.

of the dial or dials, and: as regards movement of action i being. to withdraw the inking pad from these collectively in the marking. operation. the path of the descending marking dials after Another object is to provide for ready disasthe pad has contacted the dial, faces of the sembly or the marking device from the frame and mechanism swinging it as above referred to. the inking device, and of the dialsfrorn the The dials- 18, here shown as eight in number, 30 marking device. I I V are mounted for coaxial but independent rotation Other'cbjects will appear'in the course of the on the shaft '19, which has a key-way 20. .Friofollowing description, illustrated by the accom tic-n washers 21 are interposed between the dials panying drawing, in winche 18 and have key projections'22 in the shaft 5 Figure l is a side elevation of a marking makey-way '20. The shaft 19 is journaled in the chine embodying my invention. I V 7 lower end parts of the legs of the inverted U- Figure 2 is a partial vertical section of same shaped carrierj8 before'described. Ears 23 ,pro-

on line 2-2 of Figure '1. jecting about midway of the height of the front I I Figure 3 is a detail perspective view of one o'ftiiis carrier 8 support a transverse pin 24 on the dial friction washers. which the .pawls 25 are pivoted, being spaced. 40

Figure 4 is a similar view'of the base. along the pin 2d by washers 26 and from the Figure 5 is a partial section, enlarged, on line ears by washers 2'7. The 'pawls 25 have upward- 5-5 of Figure l, showingthe base latch. ly and forwardly projected"handles 28 which Theinverted U-shap ed: frame 1 has a ver diverge laterally for easyrselective engagement tical slot 2 in oneside and a vertical groove 3 of the operators, fingers therewith. "The'pawls 45-- in the inner face of its opposite side. -A tube 25 also have rear ears ironiwhich'respective 4 is secured to the top of frame 1, through tension springs 29 are stretched upwardly and which operating rod 5 extends toslide up and reawvardly to a pin 30 -mountedtransversely in through the frame top. This rod 5 -has the-upper front part of the dial carrier frame The handle is hollow and the tube-4 telescopeslwardly to engage in any one of the :notches 32 therein, thehandle and tube enclosing a'helical between the character-bearing face porltions33 spring 7 around the rod 5, normally holding the ofthe dial periphery. v

' Washers 26a are interposed betweenthe group rod in raised position.

. handle 6 fixed by a nut So on its upper end.-.8. The lower end'31 of each pawl extends rear- V 50 -Within'the frame 1 'i's the inverted -U-shaped. of dials IS'an'd' the sides of the "dialcarrier"8.

adjacent friction washers with the dial.

Pressing backwardly on a pawl handle 28 disengages the pawl end 31 from a notch 32, re-' leasing the respective dial 18 to be turned with the shaft 19 by the frictional engagement of the By this means any one of the dials may be set relatively to the other dials to present difierent combina-' tions of transversely aligned characters at the bottom of the series of dials, to be inked by pad 13 as the dials descend, and then to contact the marking surface after the pad has been moved out of the way by the frame and roller engagement before described.

The dial carrier 8 is guided at one side by having a stud 33 thereon sliding in a vertical groove 3 of the frame 1, and at the other side by the shaft 19 extending out through the slot 2 of the frame 1. At the same time,.the shaft 19 is held from axial displacement from the dial carrier 8 by an annular flange 34 around and preferably integral with the shaft between the carrier 8 and the adjacent side of the frame 1 where the shaft extends through the frame slot 2. On the outer end of the shaft 19 at this side is the manipulating knob 35 fixed thereon, preferably integral with the shaft.

The frame 1 has, a base plate 36 which has an aperture 3'? with locating points 38 at its opposite edges, which serve to locate'the machine at the area to be marked. This plate 36 is hinged to the frame 1 so that. it may be swung down and aside as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1, allowing removal of the marking device from the frame 1 after unscrewing the nut 6a at the top of the handle. The nut 6a is in the form of a cap for the handle 6, with a hub 6b to cause the user tocorrectly grasp around the handle.

The base plate hinge is formed by screws 39 in the opposite outer sides of the frame 1, near their rear edges, pivoting the upper end parts of rear lugs 40 which extend up from the plate 36 and straddle the frame 1. It is latched in closed position by shorter front lugs 41 extending up from the plate, straddling the frame 1, each having a hole 42 in its upper end part, and small balls 43 embedded in holes in the frame sides, over which the lugs 41 spring, with the balls entering the holes, or allowing the lugs to spring ed the balls for opening. The plate 36 also has portions 44 extending up between the lugs to such short distance as will clear the shaft 18 in its lowest position, which reinforce the plate and its lugs and afford the plate firm bearings against the respective sides of the frame 1.

The inking mechanism may be removed as a unit from the frame by removing its pivot screws 10 and slipping it from under its spring 11. The

marking mechanism being also easily removable by the means as just described, it will be seen that the entire device is readily taken apart for access to its interior parts. Swinging of the base plate 36 aside permits access to the pad and dials even if the marking mechanism is not removed from the frame.

The setting of the dials is most easily done by swinging the base plate to open position, grasping the handle 6 in the left hand with the bottom of the machine upward with the dials in easy view of the operator, bringing the knob 35 at the right for turning with the right hand while the thumb of the left hand depresses one or the other pawl handles 28 to release the dial 18 required to be turned. In this position the characters are right side up to the operator, and easily read. The extension of the dial shaft through theslot in the frame, with the knob at the side, is an especially important factor in dial setting in my compact and simple machine. It affords a practical and very simple means for this in conjunction with the friction disk arrangement to hold all but the released dial against rotation. This is in marked contrast with machines having complicated systems of keys for setting the dials, and enables me to provide a truly hand carried stamp, whereas the more complicated and heavy machines are hardly suitable for easy handling and many of them are not truly portable machines.

I have specifically disclosed and described my preferred machine, but I am not to be understood as being limited to such precise disclosure, and what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A marking machine comprising a frame,

marking means slidable toward and from the base end of the frame, bearing a row of characters, and a base member mounted on said frame to extend across said base end orto' moveon said frame transverse to the row of characters aside from said end and up alongside said frame, allowing marking contact of themarking means when across the frame, and allowing increased facility of access to said marking means when moved aside.

2. A marking machine comprising a frame, marking means slidable toward and from the base end of the frame, bearing a row of characters, and a base member mounted on said frame to extend across said base end or to move onsaid frame transverse to the row of characters aside from said end, allowing marking contact of the marking means when across the frame, and allowing increased facility of access to said marking means when moved aside, the mounting by which said base plate is movable comprising members on said base plate extending up astraddle of the frame a distance equal to the major part of the width of the base plate and pivotally connected to the frame near its upper end whereby said base plate may-swing up alongside the frame.

3. A marking machine comprising a frame, marking means slidable toward and from the base end of the frame, bearinga row of characters, a base member mounted on said frame to extend across said base end. or to moveon said frame transverse to the row of characters aside from said end and up alongside said frame, allowing marking contact of, the marking means when acrossthe frame, and allowing increased facility of access to said marking means when moved aside, and latching means for said base plate straddling parts of the frameat respective ends of the row of characters and snapping into or out of latching relation to said parts of the frame as said base plate is moved into or out of position across the frame. a f

44. A marking machine comprising a frame, marking means slidable toward and from the base end of the frame, and a base member mounted on said frame to extend across said base end or to move on said frame aside from said end, allowing marking contact of the marking means when across the frame, and allowing increased facilityof access to said marking means when moved aside, the mounting by which said base plate is movable comprising members on said base plate extending up astraddle of the frame and. pivotallyconnected to the frame, and 1atching means comprising latch members extending up from said base plate astraddle of said frame and having recesses therein, and balls embedded machine.

in the frame, received by the respective recesses by a snap action of said latch member.

5. A marking machine comprising a frame having a slot extending out through its base end, marking means slidable toward and from the base end of the frame and comprising manipulating means extending through said slot and slidable therealong, and a base member mounted on said frame to extend across said base end and slot, or to moveon said frame aside from said end and slot, allowing marking contact of the marking means when across the frame, and allowing increased facility of access to said rking means when moved aside, or allowing passage of said manipulating means out through said slot for removal of the marking means from the frame.

6. A marking machine comprising a frame havinga slot in oneside extending toward the marking end of the machine, a carrier movable toward and from said end,"marking means bearing a number of characters and capable of movement on saidcarrier to selectively dispose the characters toward said marking end, manipulate ing means connected to said marking means for effecting said movement thereof on the car ier,

and extending out through said slot for manipue lation and moving along said slot with said marking means and carrier, a handle near the opposite end of said machine, detent means for holding said marking means in its selected position in said frame, releasable by the hand that holds the handle, while said marking means is selectively moved by the other hand acting on said manipulating means.

'7. A marking machine comprising a' frame having a slot in one side extending toward the marking end of the machine, a carrier movable toward and from said end, marking means bearing a number of characters and capable of movement on saidcarrier to selectively dispose the characters toward said marking end, manipulating means connected to said marking means for effecting said movement thereof on the carrier, and extending out through said slot for manipulation and moving along said slot with said marking means and carrier, a handle nearthe opposite end of said machine, detent means for holding said marking means in its selected position in said frame, releasable by the hand that holds the handle, while said marking means is selectively moved by the other hand acting on said manipulating means, and a base member mounted on said frame to extend across said base end or to move on said frame aside from said end, allowing markingtcontact of the marking means when across the frame, and allowing increased facility of accessto said marking means when moved aside.

8. A. marking machine comprising a frame, a marking device movable toward and from the marking end of the machine, an inking device comprising an ink-bearing member mounted to swing outwardly and inwardly away from and toward said marking device, to remove the inkcearing member from said marking device or said inking device outwardly as the marking device moves toward said marking end of the 9.1 marking machine comprising a main frame, a carrier frame movable in said main frame, marking means in said carrier frame, and a shaft extending through said marking means and journaled in opposite sides of said carrier frame forrotation of said markingmeans to selective marking positions, said main frame having a slot into which said shaft extends and along which it moves with said main frame, and said shaft having a projection therearound and lying between the slotted part of said main frame and the adjacent side of the carrier frame to limit axial movement of said shaft in said carrier frame.

, 10. A marking machine comprising a main frame, a carrier frame movable in said main frame, marking means in said carrier frame, and

' a shaft extending through said, marking means and journaled in opposite sides of said carrier frame for rotation of said marking means to selective marking positions, said main frame having a slot into which said shaft extends and along which it moves with said main frame, and said shaft having a projection therearound and lying between the slotted part of said main frame and the adjacent side of the carrier frame to limit axial movement of said shaft in said carrier frame, said shaft extending out through said slot, andmanipulating means on the outwardly extended part of said shaft.

11. A marking machine comprising a main frame having a' slot therein extending toward the base end thereof, a carrier frame movable along said slot in said main frame, a shaft journaled in said carrier frame, having a unitary part extending out through said slot, having a ble on the part of said shaft having the key-way,

friction washers between the adjacent dials,hav'- ing unitary engaging projections in said keyway, detent elements operatively mounted on said carrier frame to retentively engage the respective dials or disengage therefrom for rotation of the disengaged dial with the shaft and adjacent friction washers, and manipulating means unitary with the'part of said shaft that extends out through said slot.

12. A marking machine comprising a main frame having a slot therein extendingtoward the base end thereof, a carrier frame vmovable along said slot in said main frame, a shaft journaled in said carrier frame, extending out through said slot, having a key-way inside said carrier frame, a series of marking dials coaxially rotatable on the part of said shaft having the key-way, friction washers between the adjacent dials, having engaging projections in said key=- way, detent elements operatively mounted on said carrier frame to retentively engage the respective dials or disengage therefrom forj rotation of the disengaged dial with the, shaft and adjacent friction washers, manipulating means on the part of said shaft that extends out through said slot,'and a handle on said main frame adapted to be grasped by one hand while said hand 13. A marking machine comprising a main frame having a slot'therein extending toward the base end thereof, a carrier frame movable along said slot insaid main frame, a, shaft journaled in said carrier frame, extending out through said slot,-having a key-way inside said carrier frame, a series of marking dials coaxially rotatable on the part of said shaft having the key-way,

friction washers between the adjacent dials, having engaging projections-in said key-way, de-

tent elements operatively mounted on said carrier frame to retentively engage the respective dials or disengage therefrom for rotation of the disengaged dial with the shaft and adjacent friction washers, manipulating means on the part of said shaft that extends out through said slot, a handle on said main frame adapted to be grasped by one hand while said hand selectively manipulates said elements and the other hand rotates said shaft by engaging said manipulating means thereof, and a base member mounted on said frame to extend across said base end or to move on said frame aside from said end, allowing marking contact of the marking means when across the frame, and allowing increased facility of access to said marking means when moved aside.

14. In a marking machine, a frame and a base member connected together near one end of the frame for relative swinging of said end of the frame and said base member together or apart, and marking means movable on the frame toward and from said end of the frame, with a row of characters arranged along but spaced laterally from the axis of relative swinging of the frame and base member, said base member being constructed to allow contact of the row of characters of said marking member with an object in contact with the base member, for marking the object, when said end of the frame and said base member are swung together, and increased facility of access to said marking means for attention thereto between marking operations being aiforded when said end of the frame and said base member are-swung apart as aforesaid.

GEORGE STIEGLER. 

